There is no doubt that we are living in worrying times. The coronavirus pandemic certainly needs to be taken seriously, and I have just finished writing a set of guidelines for my personal assistants and any visitors to my home. I would encourage others to do the same. A good article that lists what is known so far about the coronavirus pandemic and provides advice on how to protect against transmission, can be found here. 

The article above was written by BMA honorary vice-president Kailash Chand OBE, and was originally published on the Tameside Radio website.

What I want to underline briefly, is the politics behind the coronavirus scare. I state this while not wishing to detract from the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in, but right-wing governments like to use such dramas to distract our attention and hide certain unpopular legislative developments. They like to have something to prevent us scrutinising their every move and developing our opposition. 

Next time you venture to the supermarket to top up on your supplies of toilet paper, hand wash and the like, remember the old adage that us British people are supposedly so fond of: Keep Calm and Carry On.

Keep Calm and Carry On is a motivational poster produced by the British government in 1939 in preparation for World War II. The poster was intended to raise the morale of the British public, threatened with widely predicted mass air attacks on major cities. If this poster had been produced by the current, helpless Government, I imagine that it would have said – Panic Buy and Prepare To Die.

Throughout much of Thatchers reign people were terrified of a supposed nuclear attack by Russia. It transpired to nothing, but this did not stop the BBC from producing scaremongering programmes such as ‘If the Bomb Drops’. 

This killer virus obviously needs to be taken seriously, but I would also ask people to stay switched on and analytical in their thinking. This is not the end of civilisation, despite what you may be reading, and it is important that we continue to prepare for future fights which we will no doubt be facing under Boris Johnson’s corrupt regime…